Should Gohs goal been to catch Arceus instead of Mew?

[KukuiFanatic501]

Just thought about this. Does anyone feel like that instead of Gohs goal of catching everyone Pokémon up to mew, it should’ve been him catching every Pokémon up to Arceus? Making it a mirror reference to Legends Arceus catching every Pokémon before meeting Arceus?

Now, I’m not saying they should’ve went with Arceus instead of Mew just because he’s the god pokemon. Rather, I feel it’s not a coincidence that they gave him the whole “Gotta catch ‘em all!” goal before coming across the Pokémon he wants most of all in the same series where Legends Arceus has the player on a mission to get every Pokémon in his yo before coming across Arceus again. In terms of goals, it makes Goh quite the modern day Rei or Akari.

In addition, Mew has honestly not felt like an important part of Journeys for a while now outside of hype. Despite so much of Gohs arc being centered around Mew, and his current goal being Gary, Tokio, the two Urishifu trainers, and other participants being so fixated on fighting for the chance to fight the damn psychic kitty, they don’t give us moments of Mew appearing every now and then. Not even moments of Goh interacting with Mew (besides when seeing it as a kid in Sumer camp). All of the characters in prior series who interacted with legendaries at least got good character interactions with them, particularly the ones where the legendaries have important involvements in the plot

-Ash and Nebby

-Ash and Poipole

-Max and Deoxys

-Bonnie and Zygarde

-Ash, Dawn and Brock each forming a bond with the Lake guardians

-Ash and his friends with Celebi in the Pokémon Ranger episodes

-Lillie and Nebby / Magearna

-Gladion and Sivally

-Mallow and Shaymin
The list goes on. But Goh gets the short end of the stick in this regard, even this far into Journeys with it ending soon.

Arceus on the other hand has gotten more actual relevant screentime for its involvement in JN. He got referenced and (sort of) made an appearance in the Dialga-Palkia special and made an appearance in the Legend Arceus Amazon specials at the time Legends gets released. And ironically, Goh actually gets to meet Arceus. Now sure, Goh meeting Mew in small moments arguably would’ve sortve undermined part of the purpose of Project Mew, but getting permission to meet Mew at least every now and then before PM even became a thing wouldn’t have diminished it’s significance. If anything, it would help boost it and give Goh more of a confidence boost to fight harder to get on the exploration team for PM.

Not to mention that instead of making Project Mew, with Arceus they could’ve adapted something like the Galaxy team in modern day (barring the obvious Team Galactic) and still make it research based like Gohs doing now.

The only difficulty I can see with this is trying to fit in the whole “first ever Pokédex” objective like the MCs goal in Hisui was, but the anime could’ve also spun it so that Goh got Rotoms goal and make the worlds most unique Pokédex by catching and researching data on every Pokémon up to Arceus, so that the dynamic between doing that doesn’t change much from what Project Mew is doing.

That and of course Goh “catching” Arceus would be….pretty controversial, but if Legends is anything to go by, earning the right to catch “Arceus” (aka, a clone of himself and not the actual thing) wouldn’t mess with the idea of Arceus being unobtainable.

What does everyone else think? Am I reading too much into this or does my proposal seem viable?

 

[U.N. Owen]

I see Mew and Mew’s ability to transform into any Pokémon to be more sensible for a researcher to have as a goal than it does for a god. Dude isn’t exactly trying to bring balance to the universe or anything like that.

 

[KukuiFanatic501]

I see Mew and Mew’s ability to transform into any Pokémon to be more sensible for a researcher to have as a goal than it does for a god. Dude isn’t exactly trying to bring balance to the universe or anything like that.

Fair. But it’s also not as if people aren’t interested in researching the origins of the universe or anything as Cynthia could tell you.

If anything, wouldn’t Gohs fascination with Mew because of it having all Pokémon DNA be more reason to be just as, or possibly even more fascinated, with Arceus?

 

[Blood Red]

That...would be absolutely ridiculous. Mew's bad enough, but the physical manifestation of GOD ITSELF would be utter nonsense.

 

[KukuiFanatic501]

That...would be absolutely ridiculous. Mew's bad enough, but the physical manifestation of GOD ITSELF would be utter nonsense.

Anymore ridiculous than God isekai’ing a random child through time and space so they are by force given the mission to capture all Pokémon to meet God again, and then be rewarded with a piece of him self?

 

[janejane6178]

Sure why not. He can catch Arceus, the creator of the world and all livings.
Maybe he can rule the world when that happenes

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Gods no.

 

[Leonhart]

I think Gou's interest in Mew makes enough sense already due to his interest in research, so I think it was the right Mythical Pokemon for him to pursue. I think him aiming any higher than that would've just led to more criticisms of his character.

 

[Blood Red]

Anymore ridiculous than God isekai’ing a random child through time and space so they are by force given the mission to capture all Pokémon to meet God again, and then be rewarded with a piece of him self?

...yes? It's way more nonsensical than that; especially when you keep in mind that this 'random child' is the Champion of Sinnoh.

 

[BlueDragonfangirl]

Meh either way I’m going to get pissed, Goh shouldn’t be able to catch these guys.

 

[KukuiFanatic501]

...yes? It's way more nonsensical than that; especially when you keep in mind that this 'random child' is the Champion of Sinnoh.

Who cares? The end result is still the same. Collect all Pokémon, meet Arceus and get the reward you get at the end.

Disliking Goh doing this is one thing, but I don’t at all see or agree on why Goh gets magically excluded from being able to do this.

 

[Blood Red]

Who cares? The end result is still the same. Collect all Pokémon, meet Arceus and get the reward you get at the end.

Except the person doing so literally saved the universe from a madman who wanted to remake the world in his own image by entrapping literal gods...TWICE. Not to mention, the second time they got pulled out of their own time period and shoved 300 years into the past. The process is as important as the end result, if not more.

Disliking Goh doing this is one thing, but I don’t at all see or agree on why Goh gets magically excluded from being able to do this.

It's not about 'disliking Goh', it's about disliking nonsensical storytelling. I've kinda come to terms with the whole Mew thing, but Arceus is the literal creator deity of the universe; there is nobody in the anime with feats great enough to deserve God willingly joining them as a Pokémon, aside from maybe Ash. And even then, it's a HUGE 'maybe', and people would still ask a ton of questions as to why he's allowed to own God.

 

[KukuiFanatic501]

Except the person doing so literally saved the universe from a madman who wanted to remake the world in his own image by entrapping literal gods...TWICE. Not to mention, the second time they got pulled out of their own time period and shoved 300 years into the past. The process is as important as the end result, if not more.

Okay, but Goh is also a kid who more or less did the same thing? Fighting to help stop Dialga aging everyone out of existence, stopping Heatran on steroids from destroying Sinnoh and stopping Team Galactics attempt at bringing Cyrus back to continue their plan. On top of saving Galar with the doggo legendaries. Not to “compare” accomplishments, but again, Rei and Akari aren’t anymore special sweet buns than Goh is that they’re “more deserving” of a reward from Arceus than Goh would be if he was on a Pokémon collecting quest (which he is).

It's not about 'disliking Goh',

I never said that. I said disliking what Goh would be doing in this scenario.

it's about disliking nonsensical storytelling. I've kinda come to terms with the whole Mew thing, but Arceus is the literal creator deity of the universe; there is nobody in the anime with feats great enough to deserve God willingly joining them as a Pokémon, aside from maybe Ash. And even then, it's a HUGE 'maybe', and people would still ask a ton of questions as to why he's allowed to own God.

Well by technical terms you aren’t actually owning Arceus. Your owning a clone or piece of him that he gives to you when fulfilling the quest.

But more importantly, Goh would get the feats to be deserving of it in this scenerio when he catches all Pokémon.

And in some fairness, it’s almost a given that Goh is gonna leave the series without encountering Mew, but rather, ride off into the sunset with his project Mew exploration team. So if similar writing was to come here with Arceus, it’s not like we’d see Goh on screen actually get an Arceus clone as his end all reward for the quest.

 

[U.N. Owen]

Fair. But it’s also not as if people aren’t interested in researching the origins of the universe or anything as Cynthia could tell you.

If anything, wouldn’t Gohs fascination with Mew because of it having all Pokémon DNA be more reason to be just as, or possibly even more fascinated, with Arceus?

Specialization in academia does exist. A microbiologist who studies antibiotics will probably have less interest in botany than a microbiologist who specializes in symbiotic and parasitic relationships.

 

[Ignition]

Having to hear more “10 year caught God” jokes especially after Legends:Arceus? No thanks.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Even for a silent protagonist, the PLA protagonist sure goes through hell trying to get the people's favor.

 

[Blood Red]

Okay, but Goh is also a kid who more or less did the same thing? Fighting to help stop Dialga aging everyone out of existence, stopping Heatran on steroids from destroying Sinnoh and stopping Team Galactics attempt at bringing Cyrus back to continue their plan. On top of saving Galar with the doggo legendaries. Not to “compare” accomplishments, but again, Rei and Akari aren’t anymore special sweet buns than Goh is that they’re “more deserving” of a reward from Arceus than Goh would be if he was on a Pokémon collecting quest (which he is).

Those are not even remotely the same thing as saving the entire universe practically on your own, that too twice. I'm not sure what's hard for you to understand here; you'd know why these are two different things if you've played Gen 4 and PLA.

I never said that. I said disliking what Goh would be doing in this scenario.

Oh okay.

Well by technical terms you aren’t actually owning Arceus. Your owning a clone or piece of him that he gives to you when fulfilling the quest.

But more importantly, Goh would get the feats to be deserving of it in this scenerio when he catches all Pokémon.

I know. That doesn't change the fact that even a piece of Arceus is a ridiculously powerful thing with strength that exceeds every other Pokémon. The 'Arceus' you see in the anime, with all its power, is one of these 'pieces'. You know how powerful it was.

By the way, as I've already said earlier, Goh 'catching all Pokémon' isn't some impressive feat that should automatically earn him God; there's a ton of other things that Dawn/Lucas go through before they earn the right to catch Arceus.

Also, this isn't even an equivalent scenario because, unlike Goh (someone merely trying to fill out a checklist because he wants to), PLA's protagonist was specifically given a mission to complete the very first Pokédex of Sinnoh and to bridge the gap between humans and Pokémon.

And in some fairness, it’s almost a given that Goh is gonna leave the series without encountering Mew, but rather, ride off into the sunset with his project Mew exploration team. So if similar writing was to come here with Arceus, it’s not like we’d see Goh on screen actually get an Arceus clone as his end all reward for the quest.

It'd still be terrible writing because he'd either have to give up his goal eventually, or we'd find out at the very end of this anime that Goh has caught God. Unlike things like 'Top Coordinator' and 'Kalos Queen', 'owner of God' is a stupid goal for anyone to be able to achieve.

 

[KukuiFanatic501]

Those are not even remotely the same thing as saving the entire universe practically on your own, that too twice.

On your own, in a group, doesn’t matter. I’m really not seeing the importance about this, especially when the point isn’t me arguing Goh is “better” than Rei/Akari (and yes I’ve played Gen 4 and have LA)

I'm not sure what's hard for you to understand here; you'd know why these are two different things if you've played Gen 4 and PLA.

But again, I don’t see why it matters when the point here is not to argue who’s better or worse, who’s “more deserving” or who did more. Goh didn’t do as much as someone solo stopping the reset of the universe? Cool. Doesn’t mean he can’t be deserving of getting a blessing from Arceus.

And it’s ironic this argument comes up when this is the same universe where even children get blessings from Arceus without doing anything (I’m looking at you Hoopa and the Clash of Ages) but somehow someone who actively tries saving the world is banned from joining that club.

I know. That doesn't change the fact that even a piece of Arceus is a ridiculously powerful thing with strength that exceeds every other Pokémon. The 'Arceus' you see in the anime, with all its power, is one of these 'pieces'. You know how powerful it was.

Yes, but like I said before, if something like this was to ever happen (keep in mind this is a hypothetical scenerio for discussion purposes), they could always make it so Goh doesn’t even end the series getting a reward like that but something that continues off screen into the unknown. For all we know, Goh could fail.

That very thing could happen now with Mew.

By the way, as I've already said earlier, Goh 'catching all Pokémon' isn't some impressive feat that should automatically earn him God; there's a ton of other things that Dawn/Lucas go through before they earn the right to catch Arceus.

Maybe but Legends kinda shows catching all Pokemon would be a significant feat that Arceus sees as worthy enough for an encounter since that’s the whole reason he teleports you to Hisui (and unlike Rei/Akari, Goh in this scenerio would have to be region hopping for his catches, which essentially doubles the workload).

Having said that, like I suggested in my first post, they could take the catching goal and expand on it for something more for Goh to do, like taking Rotoms goal of wanting to make the best Pokédex with as much research on Pokémon as possible, or nullifying what Journeys has done with the Pokémon go style catching and actually make Goh battle for nearly all of his catches Red style. Don’t really know, but you should see where I’m going on this.

Also, this isn't even an equivalent scenario because, unlike Goh (someone merely trying to fill out a checklist because he wants to), PLA's protagonist was specifically given a mission to complete the very first Pokédex of Sinnoh and to bridge the gap between humans and Pokémon.

That’s why I said in brainstorming that they could’ve given Goh Rotoms goal and do something similar of making the best Pokédex in the world, but you see my comments about this just above.

It'd still be terrible writing because he'd either have to give up his goal eventually, or we'd find out at the very end of this anime that Goh has caught God. Unlike things like 'Top Coordinator' and 'Kalos Queen', 'owner of God' is a stupid goal for anyone to be able to achieve.

The first option isn’t entirely out of the question. Some people (on here and other places) already assume May quit her contest goal by this point to do something else or just retire, so seeing Goh do it on screen wouldn’t be that different.

In fact, that’s already an existing possibility of what could happen with his Mew goal. Since Mew is the end all prize in his eyes, but wants to get all other Pokémon before Mew, that means Goh sees legendaries (including Arceus) as stepping stones to Mew. So he’d have to either change things up or give it up once seeing how ridiculous the obstacles would be.

 

[Gingertail24]

No, goh catching Arceus just feels really unnecessary. Mew is perfectly fine. His reason for catching mew doesn't even make that much sense, so to stretch it all the way to Arceus, would be even more nonsensical

I mean he already kinda wants to catch arcues, considering he wants to catch every pokemon

 

[Litleonid]

Absolutely not. Wanting to catch Mew was okay, but I have issues with the whole catch every Pokemon to get Mew thing, which is why I think Project Mew should have the only focus for his goal.